Butterflies
by kkkateydid
Summary: When Misty stages a casual ride-by at the Ketchum's with no intent on seeing Ash, what happens when he's actually there? Horrible summary. Just read the story. R&R AAML/Pokeshipping ONESHOT


A/N:

THIS IS A POKESHIPPING STORY(:

Yeah.

AAML.

**DISCLAIMER: **I DO NOT OWN POKEMON IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. IF I DID THE SCENE IN THIS STORY WOULD'VE COME TRUE ALREADY.

Hope you like it!

Sunshine shone through the streaky windows of Cerulean City's gym, illuminating the dullness of the lobby. A fifteen year old red headed girl sat sleeping at the main desk, snoring softly. The desk was littered with papers, some stained with water, the ink running down the edges and middle of the page. She stirred and the pieces of parchment crinkled, startling her awake.

"I'll get the paperwork done, I promise!" She exclaimed, breathing hard as her eyes got wide. Her forehead was beaded with sweat as she was jilted out of her deep slumber. She caught her breath and looked at the clock, gasping as she saw the digital numbers read 10:15 AM.

"I was supposed to take a cat nap, not sleep for nine hours!" She cried, picking up the pen nearest her and running a hand through her hair. Her fingers ran into a mess of tangles and she tugged on the strands as she tried to work them through. She sighed and gave up, focusing on the paperwork in front of her.

She had finished nearly all of the pages the night before, but had grown too tired to fill out any more boxes. She had one more evaluation on the last Pokemon at the gym: Gyrarados. She picked up her pen and sighed, looking down at the blank piece of paper.

'_Gyrarados is a very trustworthy Pokemon. We caught him when he was just a Magikarp and...'_

Misty threw her pen down and stood up.

"I can't do this anymore! My hand is cramping, I smell like I slept in a dumpster, and my stomach sounds like it has a mind of it's own!" She exclaimed, holding her stomach as it roared in hunger.

She decided on taking a shower, going out for fresh air, and more importantly, a hamburger.

She hurried through her shower and dried her hair out, not bothering to spend time putting it up. She brushed it out and stuck a headband in it, trying her best not to look like a hobo. She adorned her old outfit for old times sake, straightening the red suspenders over her shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror and shrugged, deciding it was as good as she was going to get.

That and she was too hungry to do anything else.

She went outside and saw that, despite the fact she wasn't old enough to drive, the car was gone. She sighed and retrieved her bike from the side of the gym, straddling the uncomfortable mode of transportation.

As she began to ride, she was suddenly grateful the car wasn't there. The sun shone down on her, trees shading it occasionally. Because her hair was down, it gently fluttered behind her as the wind wove itself through the bright orange strands. She closed her eyes, gliding along the dirt road that wound through Viridian Forest.

She remembered back to one of the first times she entered Viridian forest when she was at the ripe age of ten. It was the day she first met _him_. Cliche, but true, he was the boy that turned her entire world upside down.

And despite the fact she hadn't seen him in nearly three years, his face was emblazoned into her mind. His chocolate brown eyes...soft pink lips...the way she could easily get his cheeks to flush a salmon pink color. She slightly giggled at the thought and kept peddling her feet, thinking of his small hometown of Pallet just a few miles off in the distance.

Her stomach suddenly felt full as she thought of him, deciding to have a casual ride by through Pallet. Though, as she entered the town, she instantly regretted it. She had to take deep breaths to stop from passing out and small beads of sweat dotted her brow line.

What had she gotten herself into?

_He won't even be home! Of course he won't be! He's still traveling in Sinnoh with Brock and Dawn! _She told herself with relief (and a tinge of dismay). The sweat ceased to come from her skin and her breathing began to come regularly once more. She straightened up and leveled her head, her stomach once again rumbling as the boy's face began to drift away from her mind, leaving her at peace once more.

She rode past his house and casually looked over, seeing his mother, Delia Ketchum, tending to her garden with her trustworthy partner, Mr. Mime, at her side. Misty stopped her bike and wheeled it to the white picket fence.

"Hi, Ms. Ketchum!" She said cheerily, leaning her bike up against the barrier. Delia looked up with a smile, her straw hat shielding her face from the harsh rays of the sunlight.

"Misty Waterflower! How long has been? Three, four years? It's so good to see you! How have you been?" She exclaimed, putting down her trowel and shedding the gardening gloves from her dainty hands. She exited her garden with careful footing and made her way over to Misty, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, just about four years. I've been great, aside from the mountain of paperwork waiting for me back at the gym. How about you?" She asked her former best friend's mother with a smile. She was hesitant to ask about him and decided against it. It'd probably come up later, anyways.

"I've been great. Since Ash has come back from Sinnoh, I've been so much less lonely. It's great to have him back!" Delia exclaimed, clasping her hands together and smiling brightly.

Meanwhile, Misty's mouth had gone completely dry. He was... back? How could he be back? He wanted to be a Pokemon master, didn't he?! He couldn't just... _leave_ that duty, could he? She tried to get her vocal chords to respond to what her ears had just heard, but it seemed like they were paralyzed.

Delia looked at Misty confusedly. Misty snapped back to reality and her vocal chords woke up, burning.

"Oh," She squeaked. "Ash is back? How long has he been here?" She asked, her heart thudding in her chest, threatening to pop out and run away. She didn't blame it; she could barely take all this pressure.

"About a week. Dawn and Brock are coming to get him later today. He stays inside a lot; girls tend to stalk him. My little Pokemon master is such a charmer!" Delia giddily said. Misty flushed and nervously laughed afterwards, trying not to choke as she felt her stomach leap into her throat.

At least throwing up was out of the question; she hadn't eaten anything since the night before and most of that had been digested by now...right?

"He always was." Misty laughed, her stomach churning. How had she not been notified of his return? Normally, he sent letters when he was going to come home. But this was completely unexpected.

"Do you want to go talk to him?" Delia asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the small white house. "He should be in his room with Pikachu, as always."

Misty went over her thoughts, her brain in fast forward motion. She played out what could happen if she went up there to see him. Most likely, she'd freeze up and run back downstairs without even getting a hello out. If she stayed away, she'd regret it. He rarely came home and this could be her only opportunity to talk to him until he returned again, which could be years from now.

"Uh, sure."

She forced her legs to walk forward over the stepping stones and reached her hand out slowly to turn the shiny brass doorknob. She entered the house, leaving the bright sunlight of the outdoors behind her.

She looked around the familiar house and turned to the stairs. They seemed never ending as she began to ascend them. Eventually (and unfortunately) they did end and she found herself on the second floor, just a few steps away from Ash Ketchum's bedroom.

She looked down the hallway and bit her lip, moving over to his bedroom door. She clenched her fist until her knuckles turned white and raised her hand up to the door, forcing herself to knock.

"It's open." She heard his voice and swallowed. She turned the doorknob and poked her head in.

"Is this the bedroom of the 'charming Pokemon master', Ash Ketchum?" She asked, her fear still stuck in the back of her throat. She swallowed it and tried to keep her composure.

"Misty!" Ash exclaimed, jumping up from his leisurely position in an office chair. Pikachu rocketed across the room, Misty reaching her arms out to catch the little electric mouse Pokemon. She hugged it as it chimed a chorus of "chaaaaa" in affection.

"Hiya, Ash." She smiled, her fear beginning to melt away. This was just Ash Ketchum. Her best friend.

"How have you been? Sorry you haven't been able to write to me. I'd like to hear from you, but I'm never in one place long enough. I hope you've been getting my letters... have you?" His words rushed out of his mouth. Misty was barely able to decipher them, but when it came down to it, she did.

"I've been fine. Yeah, I've been getting your letters. It sounds like it'd be fun to travel with Dawn and Brock; Dawn sounds like a really nice girl." She smiled, recalling his letters about his travels with his new friends. Dawn was mentioned several times in every letter... he seemed quite fond of her.

"She really is. You should meet her when she comes back with Brock to meet up with me here. You'd like her... or at least, I think you would." He said with a laugh.

"If you say so." Misty winked. Pikachu nuzzled her cheek one last time before jumping back to Ash's lap. Misty smiled and took a deep breath.

"Do you wanna sit down?" Ash asked, motioning to the small bed nestled in the corner. Despite the fact that Ash had grown at least five inches since the last time he had seen Misty, making him considerably taller than the 5'2" red head, the bed he had when he was ten years old still remained. There was no doubt in Misty's mind that half of his leg hung off the edge of the bed when he slept but she also knew that Ash probably didn't care. He had a bed and that was better than the ground he normally slept on.

"Sure." Misty smiled, sitting down on the bed and pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"So, how's the gym?" Ash asked casually, leaning back in the office chair again. He looked back at the red head he'd spent most of his childhood with and quickly looked away as he felt his cheeks heat up. That hadn't ever really happened before... strange... His heart began to beat faster and faster until he thought it'd leap out of his chest and run away. What was going on?

"Oh, it's good..." Thump Thump. "...lots of paperwork..." Thump Thump. "...love the Pokemon..." Thump Thump. "...Pokemon master?" THUMP!

Ash caught his breath and his heart rate slowed. He turned to her and asked, "What was that last question? I'm pretty out of it; tired from the journey home, y'know?"

She nodded understandingly. "How's the training going?" She repeated her question with a smile.

"Oh! It's great! Everyone's getting really strong," His eyes widened as he came to a realization. "You haven't met all my new Pokemon, have you?"

Misty shook her head, a few strands of hair hitting her in the face.

"Gah! You've got to meet them!" He rocketed up from his chair and grabbed her hand. Her heart fluttered and she was pulled up from the bed and out the door as Ash lead her out to the front. He finally let go and the breath she had been holding escaping from her lips.

He took the Pokeballs from his belt and threw them up in the air.

"Come on out and meet Misty, guys!" He shouted as all the Pokemon emerged from their Pokeballs and gave a short battle cry.

"STARAPTOR!"

"INFERNAPE!

"GROTLE!"

"BUIZEL!"

"GIBLE!"

Misty smiled and greeted the five new Pokemon. "Hi everyone!" She smiled. She reached to her belt and felt the few Pokeballs that rested there.

"Mind if I call some of mine out?" She asked Ash. He shook his head and she took the three Pokeballs from her belt and threw them up towards the sky. Their latch opened and a few of Misty's Pokemon stretched their legs.

"Gyrarados, Staryu, Caserin, meet Ash's new Pokemon!" She said as the three Pokemon rested on the ground.

The Pokemon smiled and began to converse with each other as Ash and Misty stood by, watching them.

"Ash!"

Misty's head turned over towards the way she had come through the Viridian forest and saw a blue haired girl running towards Ash's house, Brock in tow behind her.

"Dawn!" Ash shouted next to her. He ran past Misty and met with Dawn and Brock halfway down the street. Misty watched them sadly as Ash called his Pokemon back to their Pokeballs. The three of them walked back to her.

"Misty, this is Dawn. Dawn, Misty." Ash introduced them.

Misty stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Dawn. I've heard a lot about you."

Dawn took Misty's hand and shook it. "Likewise! Ash doesn't stop talking about-" Ash nudged her in the side and the breath was knocked out of the young coordinator. "Hamburgers. Ash never stops talking about hamburgers."

Misty laughed. "Well, seems like he hasn't changed. Same when I traveled with him." Ash rolled his eyes.

"Was not! I was a child then; now I order off the adult menu." He smirked, proudly putting his hands on his hips and puffing up his chest.

Brock butted in. "I don't mean to break up the meeting, but we have to go, Ash. It'll take a while to get back to Sinnoh and we still need to check in with Dawn's mom when we get there." He said.

Misty smiled sadly. Delia came back outside, Ash's backpack in hand. She handed it to him and he slung it over his shoulders. Pikachu jumped up on top of his head and chorused a happy, "chaaaaa!" once more.

"Well, Misty, it was great to see you again. I'll talk to you later then, right?" Ash said, trying to keep a smile on his face. His stomach felt like it was turning loops and he mentally told it to stop. It didn't listen.

"Yeah, definitely." Misty smiled with an affirmative nod. The feeling of hunger began to return to her stomach, accompanied by fluttering butterflies when Ash smiled at her. She took in everything about him, saving the picture in her mind until she'd see him again.

The way his soft brown hair looked when the sun shone on it, only half obscured by his black, red, and blue hat. His chocolate brown eyes and soft lips... his adorable nose. A polaroid noise snapped in her brain, the picture coming out of Ash in all of his glory. She held the picture close to her heart and wished that she could keep the real thing, Ash himself, with her for all eternity.

She gave him an awkward wave goodbye and he turned around sadly, walking away with Dawn and Brock by his side. When they were out of earshot, Dawn finally spoke up.

"You're not going to give her a kiss? Or even a hug? Ash Ketchum, what is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air and nearly knocking Piplup off of her head.

Ash's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. "What are you talking about, Dawn? Misty is just a friend!"

"Riiiight." Dawn rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. "You should go back there and give her a more meaningful goodbye. You don't know how long it'll be before you see her again; she could have a boyfriend by the time you come back." She added, turning around to walk backwards and face Ash.

"But..."

"ASH, Dawn is right," Brock finally spoke up. "You finally have a girl like you, and you like her, and you're letting her get away," He stopped walking and so did Dawn. Ash tried to get through them, but they held firm.

"But!"

"GO." Both of them shouted at him, pointing back at Misty. She was saying goodbye to Delia and getting ready to head towards the diner she was originally supposed to have gone to.

Ash sighed and realized they were right. He began running back down the hill, trying to keep his balance so he wouldn't face plant onto the ground. The entire world stopped as he shouted her name.

"Misty!"

Misty turned around, letting her bike fall. Was something wrong? She walked slowly towards him as he stopped in front of her and caught his breath.

"Ash, did you forget something? Are you alright?" She asked frantically.

"Yeah... I did forget something." Ash said, finally catching his breath. He thought over what he was about to do and realized that Dawn and Brock were right. He needed to do this for himself. Misty could be gone the next time he comes back to Pallet town and he wasn't going to take the risk of losing her.

He pulled her in close to him and brought his face closer to his. He could feel her breath on his face and he smiled as she blushed profusely.

"Misty, I'm really sorry I'm leaving again and I promise whenever I stop in at a Pokemon center I'll call you and let you know how everything's going. I can't take the chance of you finding someone else while I'm gone and forgetting me..." He said, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Ash Ketchum, how dare you say such a thing?" Misty joked, smiling. She wrapped her arms around his neck, getting serious again. "I could never, ever forget anyone like you."

She brought her lips up to his and the gap between them closed. Brock and Dawn "aw"ed off in the distance and Delia smiled, clasping her hands together. The two pulled apart and hugged one last time before Ash turned away again and began to walk off into the sunset behind the hill.

"Ash, if you don't call me..." Misty warned as he walked away.

"Misty, if I didn't call you, I'd be insane. Don't worry, I'll call. I promised, right?" Ash smiled as he walked backwards, getting further and further away from her. She smiled and waved after him.

Ash turned his back to her and heard her mount her bike and ride away. He smiled to himself and bit his lip down, still able to smell the strawberry scent of Misty's hair. He held onto the straps of his backpack and finally got to the point where Dawn and Brock waited for him. They all began walking and finally descended the hill.

Dawn turned to Ash. "See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?"


End file.
